High Point MBB Hosts Charleston Southern Saturday

WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 | 7 p.m.
WHERE: High Point, N.C. | Millis Center (1,750)
RECORDS: High Point (6-7, 1-1 Big South) | Charleston Southern (6-7, 1-1)
SERIES RECORD: 38th meeting, HPU leads, 20-17
LIVE STATS: Click here
VIDEO: Big South Network
GAME NOTES: Click here

HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University men’s basketball team (6-7, 1-0 Big South) continues conference play with a home matchup against Charleston Southern (6-7, 1-1) on Saturday night (Jan. 6). Tip-off at the Millis Center is set for 7 p.m.

Kevin Burke and Stafford Stephenson will be on the call on for the Big South Network, with coverage starting at approximately 6:55 p.m.

PAW PRINTS
• This will be the 38th meeting all-time between the two programs with the Panthers leading the series, 20-17. The two teams split last last year’s series with both teams winning at home. HPU was victorious in overtime, 72-69, at the Millis Center on Jan. 26, 2017, while the Buccaneers narrowly won, 76-75, on Feb. 18, 2017 in North Charleston, S.C.
• The Panthers are coming off of an 84-74 win over Big South preseason favorite UNC Asheville on Wednesday (Jan. 3) at the Millis Center. Junior Andre Fox and sophomore Jahaad Proctor combined for 50 points and nine 3-pointers, while the Panthers as a team outrebounded the Bulldogs, 41-29.
• Junior Andre Fox sprung for a career-high 27 points against UNC Asheville, the seventh time this season he has recorded 20 or more points (had six 20+ point games in 2016-17). Fox leads the Panthers and is third in the league in scoring at 18.1 points per contest and is second in field goal percentage at 52.0 percent.
• Sophomore Jahaad Proctor is regaining his early-season form after missing five games with an ankle injury. In his four games back in action, Proctor is averaging 15.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
• The biggest beneficiary of Proctor’s presence in the lineup is Fox. In the five games without Proctor, Fox averaged 14.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game and shot 43.5 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range. However, with Proctor in action, Fox is shooting 58.0 percent from the field and 60.5 percent from three and is averaging 20.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.

HISTORY vs. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN
High Point holds a 20-17 advantage in 37 all-time meetings between HPU and Charleston Southern. The Panthers won an overtime thriller in High Point, 72-69, on Jan. 26, 2017, but the Bucs came back to win another thriller, 76-75, on Feb. 18, 2017 in North Charleston, S.C. With five seconds to go, CSU’s Christian Keeling drove to the basket with under five seconds to go and was blocked by Tarique Thompson, but freshman Jamal Wright was called for a foul on Keeling’s follow-up. The Bucs made one of two free throws to give CSU a 76-75 lead and then HPU’s last-ditch three-quarter court shot fell short. Thompson finished with a career-high 19 points and four blocks.

A LOOK AT THE BUCCANEERS (6-7, 1-1 Big South)
Charleston Southern is 6-7 overall and 1-1 in Big South play after falling at Liberty, 70-53, on Tuesday (Jan. 2) in Lynchburg, Va. The Buccaneers opened Big South play with an 84-43 win at home over Longwood. Christian Keeling leads the Bucs with 17.5 points per game, which ranks fourth in the conference. Travis McConico and Phlandrous Fleming are also averaging double-figures with 12.8 and 11.5 points per contest, respectively.

HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
High Point has complied a 79-95 (.454) record all-time against Div. I programs hailing from the Palmetto State. HPU’s most common opponents are Winthrop (14-28), Coastal Carolina (16-21) and Charleston Southern (20-17). High Point is 50-53 against Big South programs from South Carolina and 29-42 against the rest of the state’s Div. I teams. The Panthers are 0-34against teams from South Carolina so far this season, falling to The Citadel, College of Charleston, Wofford and Winthrop.

NEXT UP
The Panthers continue Big South play on Tuesday (Jan. 9) when they travel to Boling Springs, N.C., to take on Garnder-Webb at 7 p.m.